


you put a spell on me

by magisterpavus



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pet Store, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Customer Service & Tech Support, Domestic Bliss, Familiars, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Protective Keith (Voltron), Stressed Shiro (Voltron), True Love, except the pets are mostly sentient and free, i cant believe that's a tag....this poor man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-31 19:36:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21151076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magisterpavus/pseuds/magisterpavus
Summary: Shiro suffers through the trials of customer service and Keith saves him with a wolf.(Also, they are witches and in love.)





	you put a spell on me

**Author's Note:**

> Definitely not channeling my own deep-seated rage from customer service trials & tribulations at all....nope.
> 
> Anyway, this was from a prompt from the dear Juvelee and turned into a stupidly fluffy AU about these two magical dorks. I hope y'all enjoy!
> 
> follow me on twitter for more sheith goodies & ramblings [@saltyshiro](https://twitter.com/saltyshiro)

Shiro was a patient man, but a sure combo to make him lose his cool was a morning shift, a lack of caffeine, a rare and magical fairy dragon, and a rich white mortal man who felt entitled to everything in the pet shop regardless of Shiro’s repeated polite refusals.

“Sir, I’m sorry, but this lizard is simply not for sale,” Shiro told him for the third time, gesturing to the fairy dragon, which was glamoured to look like a large and peculiarly opalescent lizard. It was a beautiful little creature, one of Keith’s favorites, and would make a wonderful familiar for a wonderful witch. They had reserved the dragon for a close friend who had just lost her familiar as soon as they found it, but Allura hadn’t been able to fly in until today — and unfortunately she still wasn’t here.

The man scoffed at him and put his hands on his hips, puffing his chest out and fixing Shiro with a blue-eyed glare. “Just five minutes ago you told me a selling price, and I told you I would take it for twice that!” he exclaimed. “Now you say it’s not for sale and refuse to let me even handle it? This is unacceptable! I’ve had better customer service at the DMV!”

Shiro suppressed a sigh. He had told the man a selling price — ten thousand dollars — thinking that would drive him off quickly. He had forgotten that some mortals thought that was affordable. Next time, he would say it was a million, just to see if someone would still be willing to pay that. 

He and Keith could definitely use the money; it was always tempting. But this job wasn’t about making a huge profit. It was about having something of their own, and creating a space where young witches could find a magical companion that would suit them perfectly. 

The familiars were all free, though some witches preferred to pay in favors, potions, or charms, which was always a fun time. Only the mundane pets in the store were sold for actual money. For the record, they had plenty of those and they were perfectly good pets, but this asshole was stuck on the one he couldn’t have.

“Sir, as I said, I sincerely apologize. If you’re looking for a reptile, we have plenty of exotics you might be interested in.”  _ Not that Keith would let you take any of them home,  _ he didn’t say. Keith was very protective over the reptilians. Personally, Shiro preferred the fluffy things and the fish, but they were both animal lovers, clearly.

The man sneered at him. “If I wanted run-of-the-mill ‘exotic lizards,’ I would have gone to Petco!”

Shiro took a deep, calming breath. “Listen, sir. This lizard is reserved for someone already.”

“And I’m telling you I can offer a higher price,” the man snapped.

Shiro’s eye twitched. “Doesn’t matter. There is – a lot of paperwork involved. Trust me, you don’t want to deal with it.”

“Paperwork? I have people who can do that for me.”

Shiro grimaced – internally, of course. “Of course you do, sir. However, you should also know it is, ah, extremely venomous.  _ Extremely.  _ It can kill you in seconds just from handling it.”

“Which is why it would be in a display case at all times! You don’t handle  _ collector’s items, _ do you think I’m an idiot?”

_ Absolutely. _ “Right. Sir, you just can’t have this lizard. End of story.”

The man spluttered, face purpling with rage. “I can’t believe this. Do you  _ know _ who I  _ am? _ Let me speak to your manager this instant, or I will have my lawyers hear about this injustice.”

“You’re speaking to him,” a voice said from behind Shiro. The man blanched, and something fluffy brushed against Shiro’s leg. He looked down at the massive blue-gray wolf, which was glaring and growling at the rude man. 

Shiro could have cried in relief. “Hi, Kosmo,” he said, and gave the wolf a scratch behind the ears. Kosmo wagged his tail, then went back to baring his terrifying set of teeth at Shiro’s persistent adversary, who was starting to look like he regretted his previous tone.

Keith sidled over close behind his wolf with two coffee cups in hand, the door closing with a jingle behind him. “Well, one of them.  _ Now _ you’re speaking to  _ both _ managers. What was your problem?”

“Um,” the man squeaked, “I was just leaving.”

_ “Great,”  _ Keith said, smiling at him through gritted teeth, which terrified the man further. Shiro had mastered the art of being dead inside, an integral skill in customer service. Keith was still working on that. He continued to stare the man down until he was out the door and scurrying off to his BMW, at which point Shiro threw his arms around Keith and showered kisses over his face in gratitude.

“My hero,” Shiro sighed, pulling back to peer at the coffee cups and then give Keith a proper kiss when he saw Keith had gotten him an extra espresso shot. “God, I love you so much. I thought I might have to take you up on your promise that you would help me hide a dead body.”

Keith snorted, brushing Shiro’s hair out of his eyes. “That bad? How much did you tell him we were selling it for?”

“Ten thousand,” Shiro said, taking a sip of the coffee and groaning in appreciation. “Fuck, that’s good. Remind me to never leave the house without caffeine ever again, it makes me homicidal.”

“No, you’re right, if I had been on the morning shift he would already be in a body bag,” Keith said, shaking his head in disbelief. “Who spends ten grand on a shiny lizard?” The fairy dragon croaked at them and blew a spurt of silver-blue flame into the air indignantly. “We know you’re not a lizard, dear, and you are in fact priceless,” Keith assured her. “Which is why you can’t be anyone’s pet, especially not that bastard’s.” 

“Baby-talking with the reptiles again, huh?” Lance called from the doorway, sauntering in with his familiar, a lithe Pharaoh Hound named Blue, probably because his eyes were as blue as his witch’s. 

Lance was followed by Hunk and Pidge, who were also on today’s afternoon shift and also brought their familiars in tow: a young brown bear and a fluffy burrowing owl. Hunk’s was glamoured to look like a Bernese Mountain Dog, because apparently bears walking down the street tended to cause panic among mortals. Pidge didn’t bother with glamour. Her owl, Jade, said it made her feathers itch.

“I do  _ not  _ baby-talk them,” Keith retorted, even as Kosmo and Shiro shared a knowing look. “And fairy dragons aren’t even reptiles. Are they?” He glanced at Shiro.

“I think they’re like birds,” Shiro said. “Kind of their own thing.” As if on cue, one of the familiar parrots, a neon pink Moonflower Macaw, threw back her head and screeched with a vengeance. “Lance, sounds like Primrose is hungry. You’re on bird duty today.”

Lance pouted. “But Blue hates birds!”

Jade hissed at him, clacking her beak, and Primrose screeched at a previously unknown decibel, flapping her wings in a shower of golden glitter for emphasis. Shiro raised an eyebrow. Lance grumbled and went to go find the bird food. Blue followed him, but not without some dramatic whining.

“I’ll check on the new fish that came in yesterday and work on their tank set-up,” Pidge started, already hurrying off towards the back. 

Keith stopped her halfway. “Oh no you don’t,” he said. “We need you at the register.”

Pidge frowned. “But Shiro’s –”

“Shiro served his register time for the day,” Keith said sternly. “And we might need someone to peck the annoying customers.”

“It’s okay, Keith, really,” Shiro started, but Pidge shoved past him to go to the register on the other side of the store with a little too much gusto. “Please tell her she can’t actually assault the customers.”

“Noted,” Hunk said. His bear, Goldilocks, cocked her head and looked at the fairy dragon with vague interest. “Is that why you never bring your familiar to work, Shiro?”

Shiro sighed. “Hey, Astra is better behaved than Kosmo around the store – sorry, buddy, but it’s true – she’s just not a morning person.”

“Neither are you,” Keith pointed out. 

Shiro frowned down at his right hand, flexing the enchanted metal fingers slowly. “I used to be…”

“Dude, everyone  _ has _ to be a morning person in the military,” Hunk said. “And a night owl, and whatever else they want you to be. You’re not there anymore, so you’re adjusting – that’s a good thing.”

“Hunk’s right, as usual,” Keith said briskly. “Anyway, Astra was still sleepy when we left, but told me to tell you she wants more of those antelope treats.”

“I’ll let Shay know,” Hunk chuckled. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that a lion consumes so much food, but she still surprises me.”

_ I eat a lot too!  _ Kosmo said.

“Yes, you do, bud,” Keith said. “Hey, you wanna be the best familiar ever?” Kosmo’s ears flicked up, tongue lolling in affirmation. “Help out Hunk and Goldilocks with restocking and checking on the fish today – no eating the fish, and no picking up customers’ tiny dogs in your mouth and running around the store with them while their owners scream and chase you. Got it?”

_ But they are so small and squishy and irresistible,  _ Kosmo whined. Keith pursed his lips.  _ Oh, fine. No promises with Blue, though. _

Hunk gave them both a little salute. “Have fun, guys,” he said, and headed to the back, both “dogs” trotting after him.

“‘Have fun’?” Shiro echoed, giving Keith a sidelong look.

Keith turned back to Shiro. “Guess what day it is,” he said.

Shiro’s eyes widened, and in his sleep-deprived panic, he almost dropped his half-full coffee. “Oh,  _ fuck. _ Is it our anniversary? Or – your birthday? Oh my god,  _ did I forget our anniversary and or your birthday?  _ Am I becoming That Guy? Keith, shit, I am so sorry, baby, I totally –”

Keith steadied him with a hand on each shoulder. “Takashi,” he said. “Calm down. It’s not our anniversary, _ or  _ my birthday, and you are not and never will be That Guy.”

“Oh,” Shiro said in a small voice. “Whew. Okay. Cool. That was my guess. What day is it?”

“Vacation Day,” Keith declared, and kissed him hard, hauling Shiro down by his shirt collar. 

“We already had Vacation Day,” Shiro said against his insistent mouth, muffled by Keith’s tongue. 

Keith broke the kiss. “Shiro, it’s July. That was Vacation Day in June – did you forget which month it is?”

“It’s  _ July?” _ Shiro whispered. “Already?”

_ “Yes,”  _ Keith chuckled, exasperated. “We went to that July 4th barbecue at Ulaz and Thace’s place, remember? My mom was there and you converted her to veggie burgers, Lance and Nadia had a swordfight with sparklers, Veronica taught me that fireworks spell, and Astra licked Kosmo’s fur so much to calm him down during the fireworks that he had a Mohawk for the rest of the night…”

Shiro exhaled, nodding. “Right...yeah, I remember that.” He rubbed his temple. “That was a fun party.” He looked at Keith and smiled, a little shy, even though they’ve been married for five years. “You looked really beautiful that night.”

Keith’s ears reddened, and he threw an arm around Shiro’s neck, casually pulling him in. “Just that night?”

“Already fishing for compliments, huh?” Shiro knew he was breathless – Keith always had that effect on him. 

“Um, hello...are you guys open?”

They turned to look at the door. There was a teenager standing there, wide-eyed and uncertain. Shiro and Keith exchanged looks. Then Shiro stepped forward before Keith could stop him. “We’re open,” he said with a smile. “Looking for anything in particular?”

The kid shifted nervously, shoving their hands into shallow pockets. “Uh – maybe? I heard that, uh, people like me could find...y’know...familiars, here?” They bit their lip. “Or – or maybe I had the wrong address, sorry, I’ll just –”

“No, you’re definitely in the right place,” Keith said, walking over with Shiro. “Did you just get your powers?” The young witch nodded, still nervous but relief obvious on their freckled face. “Okay, then you’ve come at exactly the right time.”

They wrung their hands, glancing around with growing curiosity. “Really? I was worried it was too late, I mean, I started casting spells successfully about a month ago, and most of my friends have familiars already.”

“A month is right on time,” Shiro said, and nodded to the first section of familiars. “Come on, I’ll show you all of them, and hopefully one will feel right for you. You’re at the point when your magic is new enough that your familiar’s magic will just  _ click _ with yours. They’ll tell you their name, and you’ll just know.”

“Wow,” they whispered. Then their face fell. “But, um, you should know, I don’t think I can afford much. Maybe a frog...or a fish…”

“There’s no charge,” Keith assured them. Their jaw dropped. “It wouldn’t be right to make you pay for your own familiar. They already belong to you, and you to them. We’re just the middlemen.”

To Shiro’s surprise, the kid’s eyes began to fill with tears. “Really?” they stammered. “Are – are you sure? All the other places I heard about are so expensive, I was really worried that I would have to save up for so long that it would be too late…”

“There are other places like ours,” Shiro told them gently. “Not enough, it’s true – but familiars are for all witches, not just the ones who can afford it.”

Keith squeezed Shiro’s shoulder. His eyes looked shiny, too, because he had been one of those kids who never would have had his familiar, if not for sheer dumb luck. Not everyone was so lucky, and they deserved a real chance, as good a chance as everyone else got. “We’ll help you find yours, okay?” Keith promised. “What’s your favorite animal? That’s always a good place to start.”

The kid wiped their eyes hastily, and offered a small smile. “I...I really like snakes,” they said.

Keith grinned at them. “Me too. Okay, snakes are this way – I think I know a few you’re gonna love.” The kid grinned back, finally coming out of their shell, and walked with Keith to the reptile section, a bounce in both of their steps.

Shiro would never get tired of seeing Keith happy, and here they were both happy, even when the hours were so long he forgot what month it was. It was all worth it for moments like this. 

The kid kneeled down beside the cage of one of Keith’s favorites, a Rubyback Python who could breathe fire. While the kid was admiring the snake and cooing over it, Keith looked back at him and mouthed,  _ Go home and take a nap. _

Shiro lifted up the coffee with a crooked smile and mouthed back, _ Not without you.  _

Keith rolled his eyes fondly. 

The kid leapt to their feet, beaming at both of them, anxious face transformed with joy. “I heard their name!” they gasped.  _ “They told me their name!” _

Vacation Day could wait an hour or two. Right now, Shiro knew he was in the right place, with the love of his life, doing exactly what he needed to do. 


End file.
